Located in the constellation of Sagitta is a
globular cluster known as M71. This is an extremely loose
cluster, and for some time there was doubt as to whether this
was a globular cluster at all. Some astronomers believed it to
be a condensed open cluster. This globular is located about
11,700 light-years from Earth and has a diameter of only 25
light-years. This makes it one of the smallest known globular
clusters. Recent findings suggest that the size may actually be
90 light-years, but it is uncertain at this point how many of
the surrounding stars are actually part of the cluster. At
magnitude 8.2 it can be seen through binoculars on a good night.
